Sunshine Football

A warm April's day was just the job for viewing a game of football at Perth's tidy wee stadium. Given the option, I'd switch to a summer schedule right now and banish the worst days of sitting freezing on the terraces to somewhere over the rainbow.
Today's game may not have meant too much but the players of both teams dug in and made it worth the watching, with the Dandies completely dominating the first half and St Johnstone having the better of the second.
But for our season long failing in finding the net often enough, we would have won this game. There were some seriously good chances in that first forty-five and some clinical finishing would have done the job. Even a two goal lead at half-time would have done it for us because the defence was standing up well to whatever Saints threw at them and a tad more alertness at the equalising free kick would have kept them out at the death as well.
The officials weren't too bad, although the standside linesman must have basketball in his soul as he didn't seem to think that there was anything wrong with players handling the ball. This Blog will seldom pick out players for special praise, but the much maligned Ifil was a standout for us today with Grassi doing a good job too. The Italian may be a bit too laid back for the tates of many Scottish fans, but he is strong in the air and in the tackle and seldom wastes a forward pass. Will he be with us next season though?

Just a wee rant, while you are here, on the attainment of safety in the league (or indeed other key stages of the competition where some team can’t be caught); the expression commonly used is that so and so is “mathematically safe” or until it is “mathematically impossible” to catch somebody. This is bollocks - the key word needed is “arithmetically” - if you add or subtract points you are using simple arithmetic, there is no “mathematics” involved - no algebra, no geometry nor even quantum mechanics. It is simple arithmetic! But hey, what can we expect from a sport where people use expressions such as “it’s a gimme” when they mean “given”? Footballers don’t need to conform to type and portray themselves as semi-literate; some of them are actually quite bright.